Tubular Insights (formerly known as ReelSEO) has been publishing the findings of Animoto’s annual reports on the state of social video marketing for years. So, highlighting the findings of “The State of Social Video 2017: Marketing in a Video First World ” is a great way to update critical data and analyze the latest trends in the digital video marketing business.

In addition, Mark Zuckerberg didn’t declare that “We see a world that is video-first with video at the heart of all our apps and services” until the Facebook earnings call on July 27, 2016. So, this is the first time that Animoto has surveyed 1,000 consumers and 500 marketers since then. That gives video marketers an opportunity to discover what strategic insights and tactical advice can be gleaned now that “over 500 million people are watching videos on Facebook every day,” while “people around the world are now watching a billion hours of YouTube’s incredible content every single day!”

84% of Viewers are Watching Social Video via Mobile

So, what are some of the highlights in Animoto’s latest report? Well, here are some eyebrow raisers from the survey of consumers:

Where are they watching? 84% watch on mobile devices.

When are they watching? 33% during the lunch hour, 43% during the afternoon, 56% during the evening, 38% before bed, and 16% in the middle of the night.

Where do consumers engage with branded videos daily? 49% on Facebook, 32% on YouTube, 24% on Instagram, 22% on Snapchat, and 22% on Twitter.

64% of consumers purchase after watching branded social videos

What kind of video content are consumers most likely to like and share? Behind-the-scenes videos, funny videos, educational videos, and emotional videos.

And here are some eyebrow raisers from the survey of marketers:

Video has become a must-have for savvy marketers. Of those at companies that have created at least two videos in the last year, 48% create 4+ videos every month and 27% create 6+ videos every month.

How are they doing it? 92% of marketers make videos with assets they already have. And 81% of marketers are optimizing their social videos for mobile viewership, including 39% that are creating square and/or vertical videos.

Now, that’s what I’ve gleaned from what I’ve seen. But, check out Animoto’s infographic and see if you discover other strategic insights or tactical advice.

Or, watch the archived Facebook Live event that was held earlier this month. Animoto’s Chief Video Officer Jason Hsiao was joined by Brian Peters from Buffer to dive into the latest findings.

The Question of Metrics

As always, it’s worth noting that we’re comparing apples to oranges. And the first strategic insight that you can glean is that Facebook tends to emphasize reach (“over 500 million people”), while YouTube tends to emphasize watch time (“a billion hours”). Perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising, since Facebook says you pay for a “view” when a video is displayed in a user’s news feed for 3 seconds or more, even if the person doesn’t actually click on the video to watch with the sound turned on, while YouTube says you pay for a “view” when a viewer watches 30 seconds of your video – or the duration if it’s shorter than 30 seconds – or engages with your video, whichever comes first.

Who knows, somewhere in the distant future, the entire social video ecosystem may adopt the “smoot” as the non-standard, humorous unit of length for a “view.” Until that mythical day occurs, just realize that all “views” measured in slightly different ways.

Webinar Playback: Sponsored Video Insights 2017

If you want more insights about sponsored videos, you can watch our webinar playback by filling in the form below. Learn how data insights can help you craft winning brand partnerships, by studying the success of every sponsor, every influencer and every branded video deal. See how Tubular data can help identify growth opportunities, qualify partners and close more deals in the emerging branded content space.

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Greg Jarboe is President and Co-Founder of SEO-PR, an award-winning content marketing agency. He is also the author of "YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day" as well as a contributor to four other books. He is an instructor in two Rutgers Business School Executive Education Mini-MBA programs as well as the Video and Content Marketing faculty chair at Simplilearn. In addition to ReelSEO, he also writes for The SEM Post and Momentology.